Dear Members of the School Community

After school resumption from Lessons 1 to 7, all our students, especially our younger ones, are happy to be able to see their teachers and friends again every day. In Kindergarten and Pre-school there is relief and a happy mood. The same goes for our Secondary Department, although we can also detect a bit of tension around due to the ongoing IGCSE, IBDP and Abitur exams in Y11, Y13 and K12.

While the English International Stream students are currently sitting their written examinations, in the German International Stream it is time for the German International Abitur (DIA) oral exams, which are coming up next week. In the German school system, these are a challenging addition to the three written Abitur examinations that were already completed in February. 

Each student has to attend at least two oral exams, and it is mostly these exams that many will remember for the rest of their lives. The DIA orals consist of one oral examination as well as a presentation examination. In the oral examination, the so-called fourth examination component (“Prüfungskomponente” – PK), the student is questioned on topics that are presented to him/her on that day. For the presentation examination, the fifth PK, which contains a scientific topic with a problem-oriented question, the student has about four weeks time to prepare.

The oral examinations show whether one can adequately present learning content in a concise and clear form in front of an audience in an examination situation. On the day of the examination (4th PK), under the supervision of teachers each candidate prepares for his or her performance before the examination board. The examination board consists of a subject examiner, a minute-taker and an examination chairperson.

Before the actual examination, the candidate receives a sheet with his/her task for the first part of the examination. The preparation time is 20 minutes, after which the candidate is accompanied to the examination room. The examination is conducted by the subject examiner. The chairperson may also ask the candidate questions.

The examination has two parts: In the first part, the candidate is required to speak freely and coherently about the respective topic. In the second part of the examination, the examination discussion shall open up larger subject-related contexts and clarify further subject-related areas that result from the respective task. The duration of the oral examination is usually 20 minutes. Afterwards, the examination board discusses the candidate’s performance.

The presentation examination or 5th examination component, which takes place the following day, also consists of two parts and begins with an independent presentation followed by an examination discussion. The 5th PK examination is intended to test project-oriented learning, the interdisciplinary understanding of learning content as well as communicative competence. The presentation by the candidate is a systematic account of the chosen topic and demonstrates his/her in-depth analysis of the topic and a subject-specific as well as interdisciplinary understanding. The presentation is usually media-supported and may contain experimental or artistic elements. 

The two oral Abitur examinations are not only a challenging supplement to the three written examinations, but also an excellent preparation for later university examination situations. 

Over the last few weeks, our Y13 and K12 students have shown that they are not only doggedly working towards exam results, but are also in good spirits with a good sense of humour. Almost every day, little jokes and great costumes were elements of their last school days. 

Now I wish all students good luck and much success for the remaining written and oral exams and look forward to the K12 Abitur ceremony on 15 May and the Y13 Graduation Ceremony on 27 May.

I wish you all a nice weekend.

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